


Drowned dead hotel

by Raychu



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Blood and Injury, Gen, Horror, Paranormal, Some Humor, Supernatural Elements, based on a game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25902655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raychu/pseuds/Raychu
Summary: Upon surviving an unusual car crash, the students and their for-once-not-drunk teacher find themself stranded and soaked to the bone. The van is broken beyond repair, and so is their spirits, but what they thought would be a simple side mission, turns out to be much, much more. What had started as a field trip turned into a real-life horror story.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	1. Car crash

**Author's Note:**

> This story is hugely inspired by a horror game. Been changing up a lot of stuff to make it fit within the world of blue exorcist. You could call it a kind of a crossover. My first full-on horror fic, hope it catches your interest!

They had been driving for hours. The weather changed from a sunny sky to dark clouds and mild rain. The students were all stuck in the minivan, with Shura being their driver. She wasn’t a maniac on the road, or at least not if you asked her. She had however slowed a bit down, saying it was due to the weather, but truth be told, she was lost. Hadn’t they driven past the same sign a few times? But they weren’t driving in circles, so what was going on? Not that anyone had noticed. Half of them were asleep or, Rin being the only one, playing games on an old Gameboy. He was wearing a white, oversized hoodie and curled up on his seat, rarely looking up from the screen. His tail lazily swayed back and forth, solid proof he hadn’t bothered wearing a seat belt. Sitting beside him was Bon, who occasionally watched him play, being in lack of anything better to do. Yukio was in the front, sitting on the passenger seat and listening to the drivers mumbling for the past half an hour. 

They all looked up upon hearing Shura curse loudly, saying stuff about how the road felt endless, and that it hadn’t taken this long last time she took this route. The mild rain had turned into a full-on downpour, the patter of rain hitting the windows making them feel an odd mix of tranquility, and slight nervousness. Why did the sky open so suddenly? The weather report had promised sun all day, and although it was early autumn, it hadn’t been raining for quite a while. 

Rin looked up from his game and out the window, noticing a building in the distance, past what looked like the sea, or a huge lake. “Yukio, grab the map and tell me how far off we are.” Shura suddenly ordered, and Yukio, although a bit surprised at her outburst, opened the glove compartment and took out the map. They drove past the same sign for the fifth time, and upon studying the map, Yukio frowned. 

“The sign isn’t on the map.” He stated as he looked up and out the window. “Are you sure you didn’t make a wrong turn?” He questioned and she scoffed 

“Yeah idiot, I’m sure. I’ve taken this route several times, we should have been there by now!” 

“Yet the sign is unfamiliar to you, correct? Why don’t you just turn the van around and head back the way we came?” 

Shura sighed at his idea, but he was right. She had no idea where they were, might as well head back and figure out where she made a wrong turn. But just before she could hit the break, something showed up in her rear mirror, looking an awful lot like eyes, which made her jerk the steering wheel, the others holding onto their seat at the sudden movement. Their eyes widened when handprints made their way across the windows, and an awful screeching filled their ears. 

She had lost control of the van, the steering wheel having a life of its own, sending them over the edge and down a rather steep hill. The wan rolled over a few times before hitting the ground, a few of the windows shattering before hitting something rock solid, the vehicle immediately halting. Despite the rough fall, none of them got more than a few bruises, saved by their seatbelts. Except for Rin, hanging upside down and halfway out a window, but alive. Upon collecting themselves, they looked around at each other. 

“Is everyone alright? What happened?” Bon questioned, filling in the silence. 

“Other than bad whiplash, I’m good.” Shima silently answered. 

“I’m not the only one who saw the hands, right?” Izumo asked as she took off the seatbelt. 

“We gotta get out of the van.” Yukio stated once sure they were all conscious, watching as Rin squirmed around, trying to properly break the window he was stuck in. His hoodie was bloody from glass piercing through his skin.

“Whatcha think I’m doing four-eyes?” He grumbled, closing his eyes as Bon’s foot came flying, successfully breaking the window. Once freed and, with the van being tilted, Rin fell down and past the seats, landing on the opposite side with a thud. 

Having plenty of openings, they slowly and carefully climbed out of the vehicle, making sure not to slip on the wet metal. Once outside, they looked at the damage, Shiemi silently helping Rin pull out the glass pieces still engraved in his back. The van was broken beyond repair, smoke coming from the front of it. Not only had they crashed, but they were also now in the middle of nowhere, trees surrounding them. The thing halting their fall had been an electricity pole, so there had to be a city or village of some sort nearby. 

“Alright, we can’t just stand here, we should try and look around.” Shura stated and hit Yukio on the back, the others still staring at what could have been their death. They were lucky to be alive. 

As they turned around to follow Shura further in, following a small dirt path, Shiemi halted and reached for something on the ground. “I found one of our flashlights.” She stated as she went ahead and turned it on. 

It had gotten very dark, so it was a great help having a light source. Their steps were sluggish and clothes heavy, but their veins were filled with adrenaline, keeping them alert and aware. They hadn’t been walking for long before reaching a small wooden toolshed, the dirt path now dividing into two. 

“Woah!” An unknown woman suddenly proclaimed, showing up out of nowhere, making the group jump back in surprise. “You scared me! What are you doing here?” She calmly questioned, noticeably trying to hold her composure. At first, no one answered, looking her up and down. She was wearing a knitted vest with a button shirt underneath, a long, flowy skirt going all the way to her ankles, and old looking boots. It had a vintage look to it, certainly not something even close to modern. She had short, dark hair and greyish eyes. She looked like a young adult, and although an odd place to meet her, looked normal. 

“Our van crashed.” Izumo carefully answered, not trusting the stranger. 

“What, you crashed? Are you okay?” She then asked, looking at their bruised faces. “There’s an old hotel nearby, I’m supposed to work there. There’s a phone in the lobby, maybe you could use it to call for help?” She offered and pointed at the path towards the hotel. “Just make sure you make the call and leave, Okay? Don’t check into a room or anything. It might sound weird, but trust me, you’re not safe here… I would like to come with you, but I was sent here to check on the power lines.” She explained the route and fell silent after that. The group headed in the told direction, repeating the direction to avoid getting lost.  
Upon looking back, the woman was gone.


	2. Drowned Dead Hotel

Upon reaching the hotel, they had to cross a small wooden bridge going from one cliff to another, water underneath. Looking down, they noticed old roofs and driftwood floating around, as well as a church tower further into the distance. 

“I think there’s been a flooding.” Miwa pointed out.  
  
The bridge did not seem very sturdy, something to keep in mind. One by one, they made it to the other side, trying their best to not look down. Following the path, they passed a small sign that read ‘drowned dead hotel’. 

“Not a pleasant name for a hotel now, is it?” Rin lightly joked to try and soften the tense atmosphere, his hoodie colored red and torn from the crash they’d endured. No one laughed or joked back, much to his disappointment.

“Focus Rin.” Yukio replied as they made it across the yard and up to the front door. Looking at the building, they noticed how old and used it looked. It was three stories tall, a worn-down blue color, algae looking vines crawling up the walls as if it had been underwater. Building up confidence, the group made it up the steps to the front porch. The doorbell didn’t work, and no one answered when they knocked. There had to be someone in there, why else would they be guided there? They tried knocking a second time, and Just as Shura was about to try and open the door, a man suddenly appeared in the glass pane.

“Guests? Come in.” His voice had an oddly creepy ring to it as if he expected them. For a moment they hesitated, but having nowhere else to go, they dared to follow. They entered a small lobby with a reception, two sofas, a phone, and a fish tank. There weren’t any lights turned on, but the light from the moon shone through the windows, which illuminated the room enough to be able to see the bigger picture. Still, Shiemi kept the flashlight on, making it easier to see details. On the right to the reception were stairs going down to the basement, and on the left, a staircase to go up.

“Hmm… Strangers. How, unexpected.” The man didn’t wear a smile, and his grey eyes looked right through them. His hair was a dark grey, proving that he wasn’t a young man. Somewhere around forty perhaps, not younger. He wore a striped, old fashioned suit and a tie, and he had what could be wrinkles, yet looked more like veins covering his face and hands. He looked used and tired, like someone who hadn’t slept for weeks, but he stood straight and with cold confidence.

“Still, welcome to our fine hotel. What brings you all here on such a dark and stormy night?” That line sounded familiar, like the beginning of a tale. Or like something Mephisto would say to sound dramatic. “We don’t see many guests, not since the town was flooded.” That answered their question from earlier, there had indeed been a flooding.

“We crashed our van.” Shura informed nonchalantly, the others standing back and letting her do the talking. Rin, Shima, Izumo and Shiemi all sat down on the sofas, Yukio, Bon and Miwa still standing, not wanting to start getting comfy. They weren’t supposed to stay after all. They would just make the call and leave.

“I see. You did not by any chance notice any downed power poles?”

“We, crashed into one.” Shura informed with a frown, not too fond of the look in his eyes.

“Ha! I knew it! Such bad luck. Such bad luck indeed… As a fellow human being, I am bound by duty to help you. However, we are experiencing something of an emergency ourselves. Since the electrical power was cut off by your crashing van, the phone is dead silent, the lights extinguished.”

Upon hearing that, Rin groaned and reached for the old school phone on the sofa table, one where you had to use a wheel to dial a number.

“My assistant is trying to make work of an old generator in the basement. You could probably check with her and see whether it could be done faster. You see, without power, I am unable to provide substantial help, much as I would dearly like to.”

Seeing Rin struggle with the phone, Bon scooted over to help him dial a number. Upon trying, it was indeed dead silent, proving him right.

“Okay, listen here, we’ll have to go down to the basement and see what we can do.” Shura spoke, looking from one to the other. “So, will you all come, or do I have to pick someone?”

No answers, much to her annoyance. “What, are you scared? You should all be used to stuff like this. Especially you.” She turned to Yukio upon saying that. 

“I’m feeling a little weird.” Shiemi stated, the others nodding. They’d been feeling strange ever since the crash, but it got worse upon entering the hotel. It was as if there were something in the air, something that made them a bit lightheaded. Almost like a lack of air.

“Fine, if you dare splitting up, we can do so, but don’t leave the lobby.” Shura warned as she started to head for the stairs, Miwa following upon grabbing the flashlight. “I’ll go with you, if it’s a generator, I might be able to assist in fixing it.”

The rest of them stayed back in the lobby, keeping one eye on the odd manager. Rin was quick to curl up on the sofa, the wounds still hurting for some reason. They should have healed by now… 

* * *

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, they walked down a short hall, rusted pipes installed on the walls, bugs running in between them. There was an odd metal door on their right side with about seven locked bars across it, which indicated something important had to be stored in there. Having no keys, they couldn't check.

Ignoring it for now, they walked over to a door made of planks, natural light shining through. Upon opening it, they were greeted by a more open room. The wall to their right was broken-down, an old elevator somehow still hanging. On their left side, there was a woodburning stove bringing heat upwards to, quite likely, warm up the rooms. Despite it being lit, the room didn’t feel heated. In the middle of the two walls were a door, leading into the old generator. As they headed towards the door, the girl from earlier showed up.

“Why are you here?” She asked, not sounding angry but worried, and like she were in a rush. “You were supposed to make the call and leave!”

“The phone isn’t working.” Miwa informed, trying to hide his surprise. Did she hide, or did she blend in too well?

“Ah yes, we’ve got an old switchboard, so you can’t make calls if there’s no power. This just isn’t your lucky day now is it?” She sounded sympathetic to some extent, but with a chipper undertone. “Fortunately, we have a generator, but I can’t get it to work. I think it’s broken… You’d better look at it. If you help me get it going, the phone will work too. And then we, I mean you, could get some help.”

“…Alright, we’ll have a look.” Shura replied, a bit weirded out by her choice of words. Looking back for a quick moment, Shura and Konekomaru entered the room with the generator and started fidgeting with the wires.

* * *

Meanwhile in the lobby, the rest of them either rested on the now drenched couches or looked around. There were keys hanging on the wall behind the reception, likely room keys. Would it be wrong to ask for a room? They were all drenched, sore and exhausted, the least they could do was to rest up. But the girl had told them not to, that it wasn’t safe, yet what else could they do? Sleep outside in the rain? 

Yukio was the one taking the step the others didn’t dare to and walked up to the man, hands in his pockets to try and hide how much he trembled. It wasn’t fear, he was cold from the rain and still sore from the crash. He’d been on plenty of missions, this couldn’t scare him.

“Could we order a room? We are not staying for long; we are simply in need of a place to rest.” He tried to sound polite and turned to look at the others before turning back to him. “If you don’t mind.”

“Well, of course, I would be delighted to offer you a room, but it is too dark to properly see the stairs.” He pointed out before he continued. “And I am afraid we do not have any unoccupied rooms. The higher floors have been severely damaged.”

Damaged by what he did not say, but it was clear that he didn’t want them upstairs, at least not yet. “Once the power comes back on, we may discuss this again.”

Disappointed by the answer, Yukio walked back to the sofas and sat down across from his brother. Bon had lifted his shirt to look at the damage, and surprisingly, the wounds hadn’t fully healed. Seemingly the fact he was drenched had slowed it down, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be healed by morning.

* * *

Back in the basement, the pair had managed to fix the wires and turn on the generator, backing out of the small, claustrophobic maintenance room. They were greeted by a turned-on lightbulb hanging above them.

“Thanks! I would have never fixed it by myself.” The woman greeted, having been watching in mild anticipation. “The phone in the lobby should be working now, so please go and make your call. If you will excuse me, I need to check if anything else needs my attention.” 

Not wanting to be a bother to her, as well as wanting to get the hell out of there, the two headed back upstairs. They no longer needed a flashlight to be able to see.

“My my, it seems we have returned to the modern age. Undoubtedly your doing. Many thanks.” The man greeted them. The room was lit up properly now, every lamp working just fine, a great surprise to them all. With how run down the place looked, it could be nothing less than a miracle. Then again, it wasn’t too bad, not a five-star hotel, but still far from a motel. “I think you’ll find the phone to be working now, please, feel free to use it. If you think it would help.” Once again, he sounded doubtful, as if he knew something they didn’t.

Shima reached over the table to grab the phone and started dealing a known number to call for assistance, but after a moment of figuring out how it worked, the whole group standing by him in anticipation, a woman’s voice played out: “We’re sorry, but we can’t process your connection. The location you’re calling from… Doesn’t ExiSt AnymoooRe…” The last part sounded odd, like it played in slow motion, making her voice go octaves deeper. Shima let out a yelp and immediately dropped the phone upon feeling something crawl into his ear, a colony of bugs running out of both ends. He quickly stood up and started shaking his head in panic, trying to get the creepy crawler out of his ear, the recording still playing. “Please, do not call this number again.” And with that it started beeping, indicating that the voice mail had ended.

“Nobody’s coming for you?” The man asked as Shiemi helped Shima getting the bug out, the rest of the group staring at the hotel owner. “How terribly unfortunate… You all look rather pale. Indeed. As if you’d seen a ghost. Perhaps you need to lay down and rest. Fortunately, I believe we have one free room after all. Of course, you will need to share, but it is better than sleeping out in the rain, is it not? It was my assistance room, but she can make other arrangements. You will find it upstairs, room number 107. Please, do not be startled by our more, excitable guests. Notably, the elderly lady who moved in just before the damn collapsed. She may be a little odd. However, we must learn to live together. We may find ourselves staying here for a while. Don’t you think?” With that, he turned to the wall of keys, took one with 107 written on it and handed it to Shura. She sent him a quick nod before turning to face the others.

“Alright listen up, we’ll go and get some rest, then figure out how to get back to the road tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll wake up to a clear sky and dry clothes. I doubt the bed will be big enough for all of us, but we’ll talk about sleep arrangements once we’ve seen what we got.” With that she turned for the stairs, the others following right behind with uneasy, creaking steps. The hotel was so unusually humid, even the couched had felt damp to touch, that being before they even went to sit down. The wallpaper somehow stayed glued onto the walls, water dripping from the ceiling. If it continued, then their clothes wouldn’t dry up properly no matter how long they’d wait, leaving them cold and uncomfortable.

When Bon, being the last one to head up the stairs looked back, the hotel owner was gone with the wind. 


	3. A vision

Reaching the top of the staircase, they were met with a short hallway, there being one door on each side, as well as one painting on each wall. To the right, a painting of a young woman and a door with the number 108, on the left was a painting of a young boy and a door with the number 107. That would have to be their room. Further ahead was a wall with a sign of an arrow going right, the word ‘kitchen’ written on it. Upon seeing that sign, they all realized how hungry they were. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to go and get a bit to eat first. They were in a hotel after all, and as long as it was inhabited, there had to be something eatable.

There was a quick agreement to go there, none of them having paid any attention to the door on their right slowly opening. It was Yukio who noticed and stopped in his tracks, an old woman’s hand peeking out.   
  
“…I’ll be there shortly.” Yukio spoke when Shiemi asked him why he’d stopped and taken out a gun. As soon as Shiemi left around the corner, he approached the door, the woman opening the door fully once she’d seen him come towards her.

“Why hello there darling.” She looked old, her face and hands wrinkled and almost colorless, her eyes the same kind of grey as the hotel owner. Her hair was an almost white grey and styled nicely, it barely reaching her shoulder. She wore an old, yet shiny dress with a flowery pattern, though the pattern was barely visible due to the colors being so close to each other. Earthy, greyish brown, easy for the eye’s kind of color. Only the white laces that reached from her elbow down to her wrists and a slightly colorful scarf gave her any contrast, without it, she was simply different tones of grey. She wore a faded, almost dark orange lipstick and seven to eight pearl necklaces.

“You must be one of the pretty new faces everyone’s talking about! I heard of your unfortunate luck. Just horrible!” Where had she heard of them? And how did she know about the crash?

“You’re so pale. You should go to bed and rest. But say, maybe you’d like to visit lonely old me in my room when you’re rested? We could have a tea and chat for a while. I could tell you a story or two about our beautiful city.”

Before Yukio got a chance to reply, she continued.

“Oh, of course I know it’s in ruins now. I’m not crazy honey! But I was an important person there once, when it was a prosperous community. And I know all its secrets, even the nasty little ones.”

“…Okay, we can have some tea in the morning.” Yukio replied to her, feeling an odd urge to do so. If she knew anything about how to get away, it would be stupid so seiche the opportunity to ask. She may also know what this place was, and why it hadn’t been on the map.

She nodded at the accepted offer and closed the door, leaving him alone in the hallway. Putting away his gun, he headed for the kitchen as well.

In there he found the others sitting around a wooden dinner table, eating meat and vegetables that looked oddly fresh. Shura stood by the fridge, taking out some more and handing it to Bon, who then placed it on the table.

“I’m not sure it’s wise eating all this.” Yukio tried to reason, ignoring his own rumbling stomach.

“It’s not too bad,” Izumo replied as the took a bite off a chicken leg. “A bit bland, but not stale.”

“Come on, sit down,” Rin spoke as he ate what looked like fried octopus. “You can’t survive without eating.”

“Actually.” Miwa interrupted. “You can go for weeks without eating and still survive.”

“Well, who cares! Just sit down already! You’re stressing me by standing around.” Rin pulled him towards the chair with his glare alone, forcing the older twin to sit down. Didn’t mean he had to eat.

Once everyone had gotten something to fill their stomachs, they went quiet. They were all exhausted, their energy drained and bodies feeling heavy, so it didn’t take long before they finished eating and stood up to go to the room they’d been assigned.

Entering the room, they found it looking decent, almost cozy. There was a double bed with a canopy in the middle of the room, the blanket nicely laid, and pillows stacked, making it look welcoming. But upon sitting down on it, they found it damp, as if had been washed and still hadn’t dried properly. Still, it was soft.

“Alright, we’ve got a few options.” Shura stood and opened a door to what turned out to be a bathroom. There was a sink with a mirror, a toilet, and a shower bath, some clutter items like wet towels laying on the tiles. 

“We got the obvious, which is a bed, there should be space enough for three if we lay close. Then we got a bathtub and a rug. The rest will have to lay on the floor. So, anyone who wanna take the floor?” no one answered. “Well then, guess we’ll have to go for a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors.”

“I’ll take the bathtub.” Rin suddenly spoke up. “It’s better than the floor.”

“Alright, I’ll give you that, but only because you’re a bloody mess.” Shura replied and handed him a pillow, the boy immediately going there to rest while the others prepared to fight for a spot.

Shura, Yukio and Shima ended up getting a spot on the bed, while the rest had to lay on the floor. If they were staying for longer (hopefully not) then they would switch up the arrangement.

They went ahead and took off their wet clothes and hung them on the canopy. Items were placed on one of two nightstands, one of said tables having little round photographs of the young girl and someone else. The face of the stranger had been scratched over by something sharp. 

The pillows on the bed were handed to those sleeping on the floor, leaving the ones sleeping on the bed pillow less, but they at least had a mattress and a shared blanket. However, the blanket wasn’t worth it. It being as damp as it was, it was better to lay on than to use as cover. 

They kept the light on the nightstand on, not trusting the place enough to sleep in complete darkness. Despite it taking a little longer to fall asleep for those on the floor, they eventually drifted off.

* * *

It was barely even morning when Shima woke up with a sudden. The dizziness had gotten worse, to the point where it almost felt sickening, and he found himself looking around in paranoia. It felt like they were being watched, as if someone or something was hiding in the corners, yet for some reason not attacking.

He took in a shaky breath. He was paranoid, if something wanted to kill them, it would have done so already, why would it wait around?

But now that he was awake, he decided to get off the bed and go to the bathroom, keeping the lights turned off to avoid waking anyone. The floorboards were creaking, but that he couldn’t avoid, they’d just have to sleep through it.

Reaching the toilet, he went on doing his business, avoiding to flush to keep the noises to a bare minimum, but upon reaching the sink and turning it on, he found himself looking in the mirror, a pair of eyes staring right back at him. It was the face of a woman, and as fast as it appeared, it was gone. He’d yelped loudly in surprise and jumped back, succeeding in slipping on a towel and fall, hitting the back of his head against the wall, knocking him unconscious. Although gone from the land of the living, a vision came to him, a mixture of locations flashing before him, the sounds of church bells ringing and a feeling of drowning. Then it went black, the bells replaced by someone calling out his name, forcing him back to life.

When he opened his eyes, lights were turned on, everyone either standing or sitting by him, Bon lightly shaking his shoulder.

“Thank god you’re awake!” He cried out in relief. “You hit your head pretty badly, what happened?”

“I… Something, in the mirror. I saw someone.”

“Yourself?” Izumo replied, arms crossed as she sent him a teasing scowl. 

“No, someone else. A woman.” He reached out and took a towel handed to him by Yukio to then place on the back of his bleeding head. “Doesn’t matter, I saw something else too, a vision of some sort… I saw a city, a small one.”

“You’ve seen it too?” Rin questioned from the tub, arms flung lazily over the edge. “I had an odd dream vision thing, something about that dam they’ve been talking so much about. Felt too real to be a dream though.” 

“Yeah! Did we had the same dream?” Shima turned to face Rin, groaning in pain at the movement. “I swear it’s some kinda sign. We should get out of here and back on the road.”

“Great idea, if it wasn’t for the fact that we don’t know the way outta the forest.” Shura held back a groan at his stupidity, carefully helping Bon in getting Shima off the floor and over to the sink to have a proper look at the wound. “Though I agree, we gotta find a way to get out.”

“…I, feel odd.” Rin suddenly stated, his vision blurry, the vision coming back, though this time, he saw a church bell as well. Looking up, he could faintly see Yukio slide down the wall, the others swaying and grabbing onto whatever would be near them, before sinking to the floor as well. This time, it affected them all, their bodies feeling like lead, and their breathing shallow, images flashing before their eyes. The bathroom slowly started to change, turning grimmer and dirtier. Yukio, having been the closest to the door, looked into their rented room, finding it starting to change as well. The wallpaper was wet and torn, the bedding ruined by carpet beetles and mold stains, leaving him feeling uncomfortable and slightly disturbed. If it had been a façade, then what was the truth? Perhaps the old woman could tell him more…

Once the nausea had subsided, they all slowly stood back up, left the bathroom and looked around. On the bed, a letter had appeared.

“Meet me at the cliff? What cliff?” Miwa asked upon reading it, turning to look at the others.

“There’s a drawn picture of sea binoculars.” Yukio noticed upon having a look at it himself. “I believe we passed it heading to the hotel, or at least saw them near the cliff to the right side of the building. Whoever wishes to talk to us, wish to do so somewhere more private.”

“Let’s go then, the sooner we get out the be- huh?” Shura tried to open the door, only to find it locked. “The hell? Who locked us in?”

“Doesn’t matter. Try and look for something to pick the lock with.” Yukio replied and started the search. They looked in the drawers, finding nothing but a hairpin, but under the bed, Shiemi managed to find a rusty screwdriver. “Good enough.” Taking both finds, Yukio went ahead and unscrewed the front part of the keyhole, then used the hairpin to pick the lock. It took him a moment to unlock the door, but he succeeded, letting out a sigh of relief. “Now, we should go and meet them. Stay close to me.”

The hall still looked the same, nothing had changed. It still looked creepy in its own way, but not unusual. They made their way down the stairs, listening as the sound of the rain outside filled in the silence. Their hopes of a clear sky faltered upon opening the front door, finding the sky as gray as ever, no sign of it stopping.

“So, where to now?” Rin questioned as they stood there, none of them wanting to go out there to get drenched again.

“Standing in our current direction, it should be to our left.” Yukio replied, being the first daring to leave their cover, the others slowly following. They didn’t have to walk very far before reaching the cliff with the sea binoculars. The young woman stood there, awaiting their arrival.

“Thank god it’s you! I am so glad you came. Did you get my letter?” Yukio showed it to her, and she nodded. “Listen we don’t have much time, we have to get out of here! This place… Those people, they… I just can’t explain it. I mean, you see it too, right? Don’t you? I tell you I’m not crazy! I can prove it! Something is very wrong! Ever since that dam collapsed, I tried to get away from here, but- did you hear that? Someone is coming. I need to go! Meet me on the road to the town ruins.”

“Wait, how do we get to the town ruins?” Bon was quick to ask before she could leave.

“Ask the old lady, she knows how to get there. Just promise me… **Promise** you won’t trust them.”

With that she quickly left, someone’s footsteps coming up from behind, and upon turning, they saw the hotel owner approach them.

“Still wandering around, are we? Admiring the view?”

“Y-yes, it’s, something.” Rin was quick to respond as he looked across the water.

“Of course! It’s quite… Breathtaking. You haven’t by any chance seen my assistant? She has a disturbing tendency to… Occupy our busy guests. I’m deeply sorry if she’s been bothering you. I’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” He turned, about to leave again only to face them a last time. “Don’t pay too much attention to what she is saying. Her personal life was devastated recently, and I’m not talking about the flood. So, it is quite understandable that she becomes easily…” His pauses made it sound rather suspicious as if he was trying to make them take notice of certain words. “Confused.” With his last statement, he headed back towards the hotel.

“…The old lady, who’s that?” Rin questioned, having not met her.

“She’s living in the room across ours. I met her earlier while you were in the kitchen.” Yukio informed. “She invited me in for tea, I’m starting to consider her offer. If we wish to get away, we’ll need the directions.”

“Why didn’t the woman just give us those herself? She could have written them in the letter.” Bon pointed out, Rin quickly replying.

“Maybe she’s bad at giving directions? Could be she’s used to going there herself and doesn’t even think about it anymore.”

“No matter what, we need to know which way to go, and if the old woman is our only way of getting direction, we’ll have to talk to her.” He needed to talk to her anyway, not that he trusted her in any way, but she did seem like a woman who’s used to keeping secrets. 

They didn’t have to fully trust her, but they needed her point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those asking what game inspired this: I shall tell you once we reach the end to avoid possible spoilers.


	4. Tea party

Yukio went there on his own. The old lady had told him to come by himself after all, and he would rather not go against her. Having left the others downstairs, he made his way towards her room, when the door suddenly opened, her eerier voice bouncing on the walls like an echo.

“Come on in darling! I’m waiting.”

Having held his breath for a mere moment, he gathered enough courage to enter, the door closing on its own behind him.

“Ah, welcome! Do come in!”

Yukio didn’t see her at first, so when she suddenly appeared right beside him and gestured for him to sit down, he’d almost turned to the door. Her room looked old fashioned, the furniture having a royal touch to it. On the walls, covered in rose red wallpaper, hung countless gold-framed black and white photos of a young woman. The biggest photo, with a height of a standard bathroom mirror, had a groom by her side, her dress elegant, and a veil covering up her hair. 

Further in the back near the window stood a table with mannequin heads, one having lipstick smeared far beyond its lips as if it was done by a shaky hand. A few candles had been lit, a weak attempt at making it cozy.

“Oh, I knew you’d come, darling. I know how people work. Let me guess – you’d like to know more about the hotel and town. Honey, who wouldn’t? It is such an enticing place!”

At her last notion, lightning struck right outside the window, making Yukio flinch. It had been raining since they arrived, but the thunder took him by surprise. It sounded close, too. 

“What’s more, no one knows it better! I was the wife of the town’s mayor, you know. Before he passed away, that is. Poor soul. Come, sit, let’s have a cup of tea and chat for a while.

Yukio nodded and slowly and with a vigilant eye sat down in one of her armchairs, watching as she sat down on the one across from him. The only thing dividing them was a small round coffee table. The room looked slightly Mephisto inspired, yet with a granny’s touch.

“I haven’t had guests in so long… I get so… So very lonely… Or, have I? I’m just so forgetful these days!”

Her eyes scanned the room before they landed on the large picture, her mind seemingly wandering before suddenly turning her glare back to the teapot on the table.

“Let us have a tea party. Just like the old days. You know, I used to have guests every Saturday. No, not here, dear. In our downtown residence. I miss it so much. Everyone important was invited. They’d all admire our house, and me.”

Yukio tried to communicate with facial expressions, finding his tongue knotting. There was something about her that made him feel threatened, frozen in place. All he could do was listen to her tale.

“Oh yes. I used to be a real beauty. Just look at those photographs. Men would do anything for me. But that’s all in the past. The past, the present, the future – somehow, they all melt together. Just like the sugar in our tea.”

Yukio investigated his teapot, flinching yet again at her sudden outburst.

“Oh my! I just remembered something! I used to be rather good at reading fortunes! And I’d love to read yours, sweetheart. What do you say? I for one would have done things differently, if I had known the consequences.”

Yukio looked at her, unsure what to say, yet a voice in his head kept telling him to agree and let her read his destiny.

“Okay, you can read it.” But that didn’t mean he trusted her. 

“Good, good. Now let’s see what the future holds for you.”

He watched as she took his cup and moved it around in circles, before looking into it, her eyes widening.

“Oh, now that is most interesting. I see a chain… a door… a maze with no exit. You are trapped in the past. Your future, taken away from you, locked away… I see a trap. It’s about to close, and you don’t have much time left! I see… Ooh my!”

She looked up at Yukio, an apologetic yet mischievous smile on her face which made him feel a shiver go down his spine.

"Honey, I think you’d better get used to our lovely hotel. Because it looks like you’re going to be here for a while! Hehehe…”

Hearing that, Yukio quickly got to his feet, gave a quick, overly polite bow of panic and rushed for the door, only for the woman to grab him by the arm before he reached it.

“My dear, wait! There’s something you should know before you leave. There’s an old road in the forest leading to a crossroad. From there you can reach the ruins of the town… And also the highway. I’ll tell you how to get there. It’s so easy to lose your way!”

The highway? Would this be their chance to escape this cursed place?

“Go back to the old shack in the forest and take the path to the left. On the first split go left, then go right. Then go left two times and finally turn right. If you forget these directions, you know where to find me!”

With that, she finally let go, and he hurried out of the hotel room. He wouldn’t forget, he’d made sure to create a mental picture of the directions, and unless he’d get amnesia, they would be stay, imprinted into his brain.

Once he was back in the hall, the door closed behind him, he started to feel dizzy, the world flickering before his eyes before it all went black. A vision came to him. A bride and a groom on top of a music box, chess pieces laying at the bottom of someone’s feet, an arm hanging loosely over the armrest. Someone was sitting on a chair, head laying on the chessboard. On the carpeted floor, a glass filled with a red liquid had been spilled. That had been the only thing colored in his vision, was it a sign? What had made the man drop his wine?

Yukio suddenly opened his eyes to the sound of a pained yell coming from downstairs, and in his dizziness, he almost stumbled down the steps.

He knew that yell, it was Rin.


	5. Bloody piranhas

“Oh god, is that…”

“You’re a fucking idiot-“

“I know! What do I do?!”

“Calm down, all of you!” Yukio flinched as he made it down the stairs just in time to hear Shura yell out, her voice making chills run down his spine. They all sat down immediately as Yukio headed towards them. Rin was holding his arm upwards to keep more blood from pulsing out.

“What happened?”

“This imbecile thought it wise sticking his arm into a fish tank full of piranhas-“

“It’s dark! I didn’t see them!”

“But you saw the key?”

Upon further inspection, Rin did seem to be holding something in his bloody hand, parts and pieces of his arm bitten or ripped off.

“Doesn’t matter, Moriyama! Go and see if you can find gauze, it must be clean, or as close to as possible. Suguro, look through the kitchen, there’s got to be alcohol of some sort. Konekumaru, find a needle and a tread.” Shura ordered as she tried to stop the excessive bleeding with her hands. Not the cleanest way, but it had to be a tight hold.

“Why aren’t I healing? I don’t get it!” Rin whimpered, feeling dizzy from the excessive blood loss. “It should have healed up by now, yet it isn’t. Nothing works here! It’s like if someone put a seal over this place!”

“That’s… Actually, hold that thought. You might be right.” Yukio looked from his brother to the key he’d finally let go of. “Shura, there was a door in the basement, correct? You said it had multiple locks. Getting through that door and finding what’s inside might be the key, figurative speaking.” 

“That doesn’t excuse his actions. With how slow Rin’s healing is here, he can’t act this recklessly.”

“Mind not talking about me as if I wasn’t here?”

Rin knew he’d fucked up. Had anyone else been this stupid, then he’d be yelling as well, but he wasn’t anyone, his arm would heal, and so would the gash in his stomach. If he could outgrow a new foot after getting it cut off, then this shouldn’t be any different. As soon as they escape, he’d be as good as new.

As the three exorcists in training came back with the needed first aid and Shura started patching him up, Yukio finally found a clearing to talk about the old woman’s guidance and warning. 

“There is a small clearing near the shack leading to a crossroad. One is towards an old town, the same town we were able to see out by the cliff. The other leads to the highway. However, she gave me a warning. She said there would be no exits, that we would be staying here for a long time. This could be a sign of a trap, so we have to be careful.”

“If it’s a trap, then why go for the road?” Izumo questioned, arms folded and brows curved downwards.

“We can’t let a possible opportunity go to waste. It’s our only clue so far, besides the locked door. Even if we don’t manage to escape, trying could give us new information, a way of guiding us in the right direction.”

“And if we die?” 

“It’s better than sitting around, waiting for some sort of miracle. This place is haunted, staying here for too long can drive you insane, and the humidity is not helping either. We have to act.”

Looking around, he found most of them nodding in understanding, Rin sending a pained thumbs up as Shura started stitching him up. 

“Good, now that that is decided, I have something else to tell you. I had a vision, one focused on something specific. I saw a man lying lifeless over a chessboard, a glass of red wine spilled on the floor. These visions seem connected to the people living here, and from what the old woman told me, I believe that the man in my vision could be her dead husband.”

“So, we’re seeing their memories?” Shima shivered at the thought. “Then what about the hotel, is everything just in our heads?”

“I don’t think so. We are able to touch and hold objects, we can walk on stairs, so this building is real. The question however, is whether what we see is an illusion or not. We may see everything through fogged glasses.”

“Then, what now? Are we gonna try the highway?” Rin asked, his arm now wrapped in old, beige colored gauze. 

“We are.”

  
  



End file.
